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A neighbourhood Italian that’s a cut above the average – mercifully free of phoney accents, greasy pizzas or pictures of the leaning tower of Pisa. Instead, there’s a central brushed-copper bar, exposed brickwork and bustling, knowledgeable staff serving plates of chic and tasty food. Il Bordello does all the classics well, its simple bruschetta starter with rocket and fresh tomatoes a particular star. More adventurous options, such as monkfish in a spiced sauce, also tend to be successful, though portion sizes can be too large for such rich fare. A good wine list and a selection of fresh desserts, which are displayed in a glass cabinet, round off a perfectly pleasant restaurant experience. Unfortunately, prices are a cut above the average too: mains can pass the £20 mark and pizzas hover around a tenner. But this doesn’t seem to put off the good people of Wapping, who regularly pack the place out.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
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Our experience of this restaurant was not very good. We booked a table for 9pm on Saturday (they had nothing else before that time). When we arrived they told us that the table is not ready and we had to go to a sort of a bar which is small and not very convenient. We waited for 25 minutes before I decided to talk to the manager. To my great surprise, instead of offering us the apology, the manager (the one at the cash desk) told me that he did not like my tone and that I should not talk to him like that. I saw people waiting for more than 30 minutes for their tables
Finally we got our table where they forgotten to lay napkins. We ordered pizzas and when we asked about the pizza’s knives they said that they would bring us the steak knives. Pizza’s are quite average, with a lot of ingredients but the ham was not of the best quality and artichokes were giving a sour taste to the pizzas. By the way, the pizzas are done in a simple electric stove which is not the best way of cooking them. After that incident the least what we expected was to be offered a dessert or a discount, but we got nothing. Overall, it is very noisy place with a bad service and if you are unhappy and you leave, they do not really care because the place is small with lots of people coming. It is also located in the area where there are not too many restaurants so the competition is really small. I do not recommend it.
We ate here recently and had a lovely meal. The portions are very big and although we shared a starter (Mussels...wonderful!) we still didn't have room for one of the beautiful looking desserts.
Very Italian and very authentic - excellent pasta and pizza, and the meat and fish dishes were cooked to perfection.
The house wine (Nero D'Avola) was also spot on and very reasonable too.
All in all a great dining experience and we shall definitely be going back to enjoy a little more of the Bella Italia in Wapping !